By Katie Vance
Crafting is one of my family’s favorite activities. We love making crafts from natural materials and these DIY rainbow suncatchers are one of our best!
Tip: check out our other DIY natural craft ideas.
Why Natural Beads?
Most craft beads are plastic, which means they never break down. While they are cheap, they are not the best choice for our environment or for a craft that will end up in the garbage after a few years.
There are lots of natural bead choices including glass, recycled materials, wood, and even seeds!
For these DIY suncatchers, I found some gorgeous acai seeds from NatureBeads. I bought the carnival mix, which came with a bright variety of colors perfect for my project. Everything shipped quickly and was in great condition when it arrived.
Other good choices for this project are wooden beads, recycled glass beads, or even other types of seed beads. Anything bright will work!
Choosing the Right Prisms
Glass is always the best for DIY suncatchers! I find that glass prisms seem to reflect a more clear rainbow and seem to be brighter. There are plastic ones on the market, but I like glass or crystal the best.
You could try a variety of sizes on this DIY rainbow suncatcher as I did. I like the variety because it throws different sizes of rainbows throughout the room. Whatever you use, try to go small as larger prisms will add extra weight.
I did a combination of small round and medium teardrop shapes, although I think this would also look gorgeous with all small teardrops. It would be like little raindrops!
Making DIY Suncatchers Stick
Good suction is an absolute MUST for any DIY suncatcher. You certainly could use a string tied to the suncatcher’s backing but you would have to hang it on a secure spot like a window lock.
For this one, I used three 30mm suction cups. I secured them to the cardboard back of the cloud using hot glue. It has held up wonderfully!
I think two would have been just fine, but it all depends on the weight of the materials used. Make sure to check the weight limits of the suction cups you purchase. Also be sure to adhere to a clean, non-porous surface.
DIY Rainbow Suncatchers
Ingredients
- 105 assorted color Acai beads (7 strands of 15)
- Cardboard
- Hot glue gun or super glue.
- Pushpin or sewing needle
- Cotton balls
- 8 small round prisms
- 1 large teardrop prism
- Clear fishing line or jewelry string
- Suction cups (I used three 30mm cups)
Instructions
- To begin making the DIY suncatchers, cut a cloud shape out of cardboard approximately 6-8 inches in length.
- Secure three, 30 mm. suction cups to the back of the cut out using hot glue or super glue.
- Poke 7 equidistant holes about a quarter inch from the bottom of the cloud using a push pin and set aside.
- Sorting beads by color: red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue, violet.
- Gather 15 of each color.
- Make a strand of red beads, securing the first bead with a knot.
- String 14 more beads, then tie the strand to the cardboard cloud shape using the premade hole.
- Repeat with orange, then yellow, then green, then turquoise, then blue, then violet.
- Once the DIY suncatcher strands are attached, secure the small round prisms to the bottom bead of each strand using string. Cut the excess off the ends.
- Secure the teardrop prism to the green strand (if using).
- Cover the cardboard cut out with glue and push cotton balls into the glue until the cloud is completely covered, including the holes for the string.
- Allow the glue to dry completely
- Using suction cups, attach to a clean, sunny window. Enjoy!
These DIY rainbow suncatchers make a fantastic gift. We made one for a friend living in a nursing home and she enjoys it immensely!
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